EXCLUSIVE:Millennium Films has tapped Ashley Edward Miller to pen the screenplay for Red Sonja, the feature film based on the comic book heroine from the 1970s. The female-strong project is being financed by Millennium and produced by the company along with Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon of Cinelou, Christa Campbell & Lati Grobman and Red Sonja rights holder Luke Lieberman.

Red Sonja, which Dynamite Entertainment continues to publish in comic book form today, was put into fast-track development by Avi Lerner after the success of Warner Bros’ female empowerment film Wonder Woman, which captured a new generation at the box office with a big $821.8 million worldwide gross. Red Sonja, who wields swords and sorcery, is known as the she-devil with a sword.

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Miller’s most recent credits include Fox’s upcoming Big Trouble in Little China, but he began his career in television on Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda and has written and produced for critical genre successes like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fringe and Black Sails.

He is currently a consulting producer on the second season of Amazon’s Lore anthology series. In addition, he is the co-author of Colin Fischer, a mystery novel for young adults.

Miller said he is looking forward to bringing Red Sonja to the screen. “It’s an exciting opportunity to faithfully adapt the amazing Hyborean world Robert E. Howard created, and inject it with Sonja’s intelligence, ferocity, and fearless humanity,” he said. “I want people to love Sonja the way I love her, and walk out of the theater understanding why she’s so popular and enduring. Sonja is an icon.”

Joe Gatta will oversee for Millennium, which is currently in post-production on Hellboy for Lionsgate. Millennium also started shooting the third installment of its franchise Angel has Fallen in London.

Miller is repped by WME and manager/producer Susan Solomon-Shapiro from Circle of Confusion.